“Oh, bloody hell, no!” After a breath, his cheeks turned red. “That little wanker is going to wish he was never born. Alex?” Nicholas tipped his chin at his brother. “Ben and Foyle need you. We need to notify the Fairhaven Charities executive board as well, and we need to do it now. We can’t reach your adminassistant.”
Alexander almost growled. “Can’t this wait twentyminutes?”
“No,” Nicholas said. “Carter’s got a judge in his back pocket. He’s suing us—the whole Fairhaven umbrella as well as the three of us individually—for defamation of character. Foyle just got the notification from the very pissed-off clerk who was dragged out of bed to file the paperwork. Carter’s gone to theBeantown Babbler,and they’re running some sort of libelous screed on us tomorrow—all about ourvendettaagainst them for firing Elizabeth. He’s not going to get away withthis.”
Alexander shook his head and blew out a tense breath. “Beantown Babblerhas hated us ever since you dumped their Style editor’s sister. We have to stop thisnow.”
Elizabeth laid her hand on Alexander’s arm. “Deal with this. I’ll be fine. It’s a secure building. Come up when you’re done, or I’ll be down in ten minutes with River.” She kissed his cheek. “I’m really sorry all ofthis.”
“You did nothing, Elizabeth. Nothing but steal my heart. I confess I do not want it back.” Alexander trailed his hand down her back, over her ass, and squeezed. “Hurry. I want to be safely home before the storybreaks.”
She forced a smile. “River’s going to need a litter box. I don’t really want to bring hers in thecar.”
“Samuel can handle that. I’ll texthim.”
“Okay. Be rightback.”
Elizabeth dashed through the building’s foyer and jabbed the elevator button. Alexander and Nicholas paced, each barking into their phones. Hopefully, none of the neighbors wouldcomplain.
As she pushed through her apartment door, she called, “River? Come here,kitty!”
A thud of feline paws and a blur of orange streaked across the living room and dove under thesofa.
“Shit, sweetie, what’s gotten into you?” Elizabeth got down on all fours to peer under the sofa. The cat crouched, her tail three sizes bigger than usual, and her teeth bared. Elizabeth reached out, and the cat growled ather.
“River!” She yanked her hand back. “Fine. But in a few minutes, you’re going to have come out from underthere.”
Teetering on her heels, Elizabeth ran a hand through her messy hair as she glanced around the room. Her laptop drew her gaze. She should bring that, too. As she headed for her darkened bedroom, she made a short mental list of necessities. Her toe caught on a loose floorboard, but she righted herself quickly and glared down at her feet in the semi-darkness. She’d been lucky she hadn’t tripped and broken her neck before Alexander had picked her uptonight.
Another maintenance request the super canignore.
As she flicked on the bedside lamp, a rustle of fabric and a soft exhalation of air sent terror flooding her. Spinning around, she was about to scream when a gloved hand slapped over her mouth, and an arm banded tightly around her torso, pinning her arms to hersides.
“Well, now. You weren’t supposed to be here tonight, Miss Bennett. But you’ve saved me a trip later in the week, Isuppose.”
Elizabeth thrashed and screamed behind the glove, but so little sound emerged she feared no one would hear her. Her assailant hauled her up so her feet dangled off the ground. She tried to kick at him with her sharp heels but found onlyair.
“Keep quiet. If you don’t, I’ll make your last few minutes verypainful.”
Oh God. He’s going to killme.
Alexander. He’d come for her eventually, but did she have thatlong?
Her captor dragged her towards her living room. Elizabeth bucked and tried to wedge her feet against the door frame, but the man holding her slammed Elizabeth into the wall. Her hip and shoulder throbbed, and she let herself go limp, hoping to save herstrength.
As the man shoved her face first onto the couch, she flailed her arms, trying to scratch, punch, hit…anything to get him off of her. Too soon, her lungs burned, and she feared she’d passout.
“Stop fighting me, Miss Bennett.” He pressed his fingers underneath her arm between two of her ribs. Every nerve ending in her body caught fire. The pain overwhelmed all conscious thought, and her tears soaked into theupholstery.
“Hurts, doesn’tit?”
She needed more oxygen and tried to whine into the cushions. The asshole wrapped a hand in her hair but didn’t let her up. “I’m well-trained in advanced torture techniques. I can cause you more pain than you could possibly imagine and never leave a single mark. So you’re going to behave. You’re going to take the pills I give you without a fuss, and I’ll let you die peacefully. Otherwise, I’ll gag you, and we’ll have several hours together before I force the pills down your throat.Understand?”
The pressure holding her head against the cushions let up slightly, and Elizabethnodded.
He doesn’t know aboutAlexander.
How long had it been? If she fought, if she could stand the pain until Alexander came to get her, maybe she’d have a chance. Or maybe Alexander would dietoo.
